The third anniversary of the Virginia Tech (VT) massacre has once again brought calls from anti-gun advocates for more stringent control to be imposed on the sale of weapons in the United States.
On April 16, 2007, VT student Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people in the worst school shooting spree in U.S. history, and today the university planned to cancel classes to commemorate those who died.
Campaign to Keep Guns Off Campus has also marked the anniversary by blasting the gun lobby’s push to permit the carrying of loaded handguns on college campuses.
"The gun lobby is not interested in the safety of students, faculty and staff," said Andy Pelosi, director of the campaign.
"They are using the tragic shooting at Virginia Tech as cover for their real agenda to push guns into every nook and cranny of society," he added.
He also urged colleges and universities to join in the effort to oppose guns on college campuses, saying that to date, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities and more than 130 individual colleges and universities in 31 states have joined the campaign.
However, proponents of guns on campuses scored a significant victory just one day before the anniversary, when the Colorado Court of Appeals ruled in favor of students seeking the right to carry concealed weapons on campus.
The appeals court reversed an earlier ruling by El Paso County District Judge David Miller who dismissed a lawsuit filed in 2008 by Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, seeking to overturn the University of Colorado’s gun ban, according to Denver Daily News.